There was some debate in the comments about this topic so I thought I’d do a poll. As we all know, long term treatment can be prohibitively expensive for many people and Intervention offers free treatment to the addicts and often extends it to the people close to them. A lot of the families shown on Intervention are not necessarily poor but are working to middle class and even they would have a hard time paying for the kind of treatment that Intervention offers, even with good insurance.

Costs range from about $18,000 to $60,000 for a 90 day program (higher for the more elite places), and that doesn’t include aftercare and sober living housing. Even if you do have insurance that covers treatment, you would certainly be subject to the deductible and then move into the out-of-pocket max for the year for co-pays, which averages out nationally to be $6,800 (healthcare.gov). What that means is that even with decent insurance, most families would be paying at least $6,800 out of pocket. I don’t know any working class people who could afford that.

Anyway, yeah, it’s expensive. And given that Intervention is offering something that few families could afford to do on their own, maybe the show should focus on the families who actually need that financial help? Giving free treatment to families who don’t need it is not the best use of that valuable resource.

On the other hand, seeing families from varied economic and cultural backgrounds is a good thing – it’s important that people understand that addiction affects people across all classes and that it’s not a poor person’s disease. Also, the addicts from wealthy backgrounds are still in need of help. Just because they can afford to pay for treatment doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t need the intervention, right?

Curious what y’all think. Maybe there’s a compromise?

Should Wealthy Families Be On Intervention?

Yes, the addict still needs help and the audience needs to see families from diverse backgrounds regardless of their ability to pay for treatment

No, there are plenty of families that can't afford treatment and Intervention should focus on them

Ok folks, we made it to the final round. Thanks to everyone who voted in all the previous rounds. Now it’s time to pick from the Top 2 vote-getters from each poll. So, who would you most like to see in a followup episode (or at least a legacy Skype update)? The winner will receive, well… bragging rights I guess? But who knows, maybe the producers will find this and take it into consideration when they’re doing followup calls. Your vote could make the difference!

The 18th season of Intervention was an interesting departure for the show. Instead of focusing on a single family and intervention, the crew followed a small group of addicts and their families from one community spanning over 6 episodes. There were still frustrated families, tragic endings, and hopeful futures just like every season, but the different format allowed for some new perspectives, like a deeper dive into the effects of a drug epidemic at the hyper local level, while also sacrificing some of the elements that made the show what it is, such as in-depth individual back stories. There’s been some good discussion about the merits and disappointments of the season right here, but I’m wondering in general how y’all felt about the format. Feel free to elaborate on your thoughts in the comments.

The Heroin Triangle Season - Yay or Nay?

I loved the format and actually prefer it to the regular episode seasons

Ok so they don’t do whole followup episodes anymore unfortunately, but they do the Skype “Legacy” updates. So let’s say we have a say in who Intervention reaches out to next. Who do you most hope to see on a future Legacy segment?

This will be done in several parts so that there aren’t too many to choose from. I couldn’t include every single person that’s ever been on the show, so I had to narrow it down. The people who will be listed in these polls will have 1) not already had a follow up episode or Legacy update 2) have not provided updates here (meaning we know how they’re doing based on their comments) and 3) are the ones who have gotten at least a few “where are they now, does anyone have an update” comments.

If there’s someone listed here that DOESN’T meet those qualifications, just assume that I know that and I included them for a reason.

Ok so they don’t do whole followup episodes anymore unfortunately, but they do the Skype “Legacy” updates. So let’s say we have a say in who Intervention reaches out to next. Who do you most hope to see on a future Legacy segment?

This will be done in several parts so that there aren’t too many to choose from. I couldn’t include every single person that’s ever been on the show, so I had to narrow it down. The people who will be listed in these polls will have 1) not already had a follow up episode or Legacy update 2) have not provided updates here (meaning we know how they’re doing based on their comments) and 3) are the ones who have gotten at least a few “where are they now, does anyone have an update” comments. If there’s someone you know meets those requirements and they aren’t listed, let me know and I’ll add them to the poll.

If there’s someone listed here that DOESN’T meet those qualifications, just assume that I know that and I included them for a reason.

Ok so they don’t do whole followup episodes anymore unfortunately, but they do the Skype “Legacy” updates. So let’s say we have a say in who Intervention reaches out to next. Who do you most hope to see on a future Legacy segment?

This will be done in several parts so that there aren’t too many to choose from. I couldn’t include every single person that’s ever been on the show, so I had to narrow it down. The people who will be listed in these polls will have 1) not already had a follow up episode or Legacy update 2) have not provided updates here (meaning we know how they’re doing based on their comments) and 3) are the ones who have gotten at least a few “where are they now, does anyone have an update” comments. If there’s someone you know meets those requirements and they aren’t listed, let me know and I’ll add them to the poll.

If there’s someone listed here that DOESN’T meet those qualifications, just assume that I know that and I included them for a reason.

Ok so they don’t do whole followup episodes anymore unfortunately, but they do the Skype “Legacy” updates. So let’s say we have a say in who Intervention reaches out to next. Who do you most hope to see on a future Legacy segment?

This will be done in four or five parts so that there aren’t too many to choose from. I couldn’t include every single person that’s ever been on the show, so I had to narrow it down. The people who will be listed in these polls will have 1) not already had a follow up episode or Legacy update 2) have not provided updates here (meaning we know how they’re doing based on their comments) and 3) are the ones who have gotten at least a few “where are they now, does anyone have an update” comments. If there’s someone you know meets those requirements and they aren’t listed, let me know and I’ll add them to the poll.

If there’s someone listed here that DOESN’T meet those qualifications, just assume that I know that and I included them for a reason.

Ok so they don’t do whole followup episodes anymore unfortunately, but they do the Skype “Legacy” updates. So let’s say we have a say in who Intervention reaches out to next. Who do you most hope to see on a future Legacy segment?

This will be done in four parts so that there aren’t too many to choose from. I couldn’t include every single person that’s ever been on the show, so I had to narrow it down. The people who will be listed in these polls will have 1) not already had a follow up episode or Legacy update 2) have not provided updates here (meaning we know how they’re doing based on their comments) and 3) are the ones who have gotten at least a few “where are they now, does anyone have an update” comments. If there’s someone you know meets those requirements and they aren’t listed, let me know and I’ll add them to the poll.

If there’s someone listed here that DOESN’T meet those qualifications, just assume that I know that and I included them for a reason.